Tonight (but actually still daylight) was really fun, and I got a lot of photos and videos including, although I've not seen it yet to be sure how it turned out, some pretty unique things.
One of Dennis' kits decided to come down and join us. He/she seemed pretty comfortable around me. Dennis' kits are pretty big now, I'd say the biggest of the bunch. Dennis came over a time or two to beg for a cookie, but I didn't have any. Since I yelled at her that day she has been surprisingly well-behaved about the cookie thing. She will ask nicely and then go on about her business, something she could never seem to manage before. At one point she was looking for cookies while I was shooting 'important' video footage and thus could not look down at her or keep her out of the bag. If she had gotten in the bag, I would have been forced to cut my video short, but she didn't even try. I was quite surprised.
At one point I stopped and rummaged around in the bottom of the bag to see if I could find even one cookie that might have fallen down there. I did find one lone cookie which I gave to Dennis. I also found a bag with 4 marshmallows in it. I offered Dennis one but she wasn't interested. Later when her kit came down I gave him (or her) one. The kit, who had been eating kibble, loved the marshmallow. He gobbled it up and started looking around for another, even came over towards me showing that he understood it had not fallen from the sky. I gave him one more. The little 'devil' wanted yet another but I had to cut him off. I just don't think a youngster should eat a volume of sugar that exceeds his own body size. lol.
Later, Cissy showed up followed by a whole lot of whaling and limb jiggling, enough for an entire caravan of elephants. I threw the camera up in video mode hoping to capture some of this. Moments later, the one, tiny baby raccoon emerged from the foliage atop the fence still hollering at the top of its lungs for its mom. By this time Cissy, who seems to be awfully mean to the little fella, had long since arrived at her place at the buffet and was eating. The lone, frightened kit made its way down the fence, but was accosted by this one 'witch' of a raccoon, the same one who always chases Jerry off. This time, incredibly, she was giving the poor little kit grief. Apparently, just as in human society, some raccoon do not abide by accepted societal rules of polite behavior. Cissy quickly abandoned her food, ran to the kits aid, and jumped on the other raccoon to say, "Back OFF!" The other raccoon ran for the forest, and Cissy and kit came back over to her food. I got some of this on video.
After that Cissy ate while the kit wandered around her trilling almost non-stop. I took a number of photos and almost non-stop video footage. It's so hard to capture that kind of action in still photos. The kit moves just a little at the last instant and the moment is lost. Video gets pretty much everything, and I can always find a program to extract the stills from the video footage in the future. Anyhow, I could see how that endless trilling might get on the mom's nerves after a few hours, days, weeks...
Cissy's baby seems very, very young. It doesn't even seem to really be on solid food yet, so, although I tried to interest it in kibble and cookies, the kit really didn't have anything to do, plus, after its run-in with the mean raccoon, it was justifiably afraid of all of the other adults at the buffet - although it didn't seem the least bit afraid of me. Over the time they were there the kit came over to my feet a few times. I didn't try to interact with it. I felt pretty sure it would get frightened if I moved, so I just let it get accustomed to being close to me, smelling me, checking me out, etc - even standing on the instep of my boot for a while which was SO awesome.
Again, as the night before, whenever the kit would get to close to her face or front end while she was eating, Cissy would toss it backward with her nose while fussing/grumbling at it. I felt sorry for the little one, but as I'm not raising it, I'm trying not to judge. I think perhaps she wants it to learn to stay behind her where it's safe - or at least out of her way. She didn't seem to mind much if it went 3 or 4 feet away as long as it didn't get in the way of her meal. That said, she did seem to be keeping an eye on it. She watched me when the kit came near me and when I pointed the camera at them.
I think I got footage of her rebuffing the little one yesterday, but not as roughly as she sometimes did. I tried to get more footage of that today, but while she tossed him for a loop several times with her nose, it seemed no matter how long I kept the camera running, she would always do it in between takes. It was almost as if she had me made for the paparazzi and knew she would be on a 'kit abuse' segment on the evening DG news if that got on tape.
I got footage of the kit digging a hole or rather digging into an existing hole. I gave him a marshmallow. Unlike Jerry's kit this one picked it up and licked the sugar off before putting it down again. He/she didn't eat kibble either and really showed little sign of having much experience with solid food. She licked things mostly, licked a piece of animal cookie I gave her yesterday, too. From time to time she would go back to the marshmallow, pick it up, lick it some more and put it down again. Eventually she actually started to nibble it and ended up eating most of it, the only thing I had seen her eat so far - I hope it doesn't make her sick. The mom didn't seem to care what she ate as long as she stayed out of the way which brings me back to Heidi who always had to inspect everything, food or toy, given to her kits during the 1st week or so of their visits, basically until they learned more about taking care of themselves.
Dennis came back and walked to near Cissy and the kit. I have video footage of the kit, tiny as it was, bowing up its back and going after Dennis as if to chase her away. Dennis and Cissy are sisters and get along well. Dennis ignored the kit. Later, and, incredibly, I got footage of this, too, Dennis for some unknown reason (considering there was foot elsewhere) decided she wanted Cissy's food. Dennis tried to execute The Steal to take the food. She sat down close to them and started back up. The kit, apparently to young to know about The Steal, got offended by this gesture and climbed on Dennis's back. I think the kit was fighting her off, but I need to look at it again on video. Maybe the kit was playing with Aunt Dennis. I'm not sure. I saw it all on the LCD screen rather than in person, so I may have missed the true flavor of the event. Moments later Cissy ran Dennis off from their food.
It was one of those crazy nights. One of the adult raccoons apparently took a nap on the top of the fence. She was up there, body draped across the top of the fence, feet stretching down to the bar they walk on, head down on the fence and not moving for quite a while. I took video (of her not moving) and stills to document this.
Once again, Heidi was there but she did not bring her kits.
Heidi Chronicles: Baby Talk 2010
ROTF, Ruth!
Thank you! I never knew what to call those front teeth. And my dentist doesn't help much. Everyone at her office talks to me about teeth by number like, "Are you having any trouble with No 12?" As if I have a little chart at home showing my mouth and their numbering system. Right!
As I was writing that about Jerry and the kit, I wondered the same thing myself. It seems as though she would bring him to the buffet every day. Upon reflection, it seems to me that most of the Moms other than Heidi and Cissy leave it up to the kits to decide when they are ready to come to the buffet. It seems like they bring the kits along with them and then let the kits decide whether to stay in a tree where they can watch Mom or join her at the buffet. Sometimes one kit that just happens to be more courageous than the others will venture down part way through the buffet no longer able to watch from the sidelines. It seems like a good system to me really because the kits aren't forced to come to the buffet, which is scary to them at first, until they are ready.
Heidi does things differently, as we know, because she has a far more disciplined approach and likes to keep all of the kits together, but then I suspect that with her very attentive mothering skills all but the most timid of kits will feel safe and comforted by her. Sometimes the rare Heidi kit like Fraidy (and others whose names elude me at the moment) have run back to the fence for comfort a time or two when frightened. She deals with this on a case by case basis, sometimes letting them go, sometimes calling them and/or following them. I think Cissy forces her kit to follow her simply because it is an 'only kit' - or maybe it's the kit's decision, either way for the same reason: two or more kits can keep each other company and sort of 'babysit' each other, but one kit left alone in a tree is just that, alone.
That's an interesting debate about how Heidi got to be the way she is. I still strongly suspect that her situation is a combination of things that include her years of experience and her high intellectual ability along with perhaps a very skilled mother, but, of course, we will never know for sure. In time, if we get more data on older raccoons like Dennis we may get a better picture of how raccoon motherhood develops. I'm hoping for this.
(P.S. Gotta go because Cocoa is in the foyer and wants me to come spend time with him. He was sleeping peacefully on his bed when I went down there around 1AM to check up on him, but now he is demanding attention. He has even come down to the bedroom a time or two, which for him is a major step, but when he gets here he is very timid and Widget, sensing that, chases him back to the foyer - so, Widget isn't helping much.)
Here is the pic I mentioned of Jerry's kit with the tennis ball. Also for size info, the red plastic top beside him is the top from a frosting container.
Here is a first look at Cissy's kit. Note the spatter pattern on its nose. Although not especially attractive, I hope that is 'real' since it would make this one very easy to ID through adulthood and on to future years. I managed to grab a pic of the little guy holding a piece of animal cookie, but he doesn't actually eat them yet. He pics them up, licks them a bit, and drops them again.
Here is the raccoon, not sure who, sleeping on the top of the fence - right at the spot where many of them come and go. I also have a short video of this to show that the raccoon really isn't moving. Takes all kinds. Sometimes you just can't make it back to your tree limb.
Think I'll label this one "Sleeping One Off"
I can't remember the timing of Cissy's injury in relation to her pregnancy. It is very unusual for a lady her age to have a single kit. If she was injured while pregnant, her body may have reabsorbed all but one kit, knowing she was unlikely to be able to raise a litter successfully that way. If she'd already given birth before being injured, only one kit may have made it. It has to be all but impossible, even with the buffet, to find enough food, nurse and protect the kits, etc. with mobility as limited as hers has been. And I suspect the fact that the kit is alone is the major reason for the vocalizing and clingy behavior; but I definitely see how it could truly annoy a mother, esp. an injured one who isn't able to fully protect the kit if his vocalizing draws a predator.
OK, mom, I know you're very protective of your favorite problem child, so I won't comment on Dennis losing her kits....again. ROFL quietly. Yes, her gradual improvement does give one hope that she might be a fully competent mom someday, but let's not be holding our breath, okay? Snicker. I do get it, really. Years ago I had a cat who gave new meaning to the concept of "not gifted," and I found myself defending him all the time; but man he was sweet and you just couldn't help yourself.
Here is the link to a video I just uploaded to YouTube. This is Cissy with her new kit. The loud and shrill trilling sound hear throughout the video is the kit. In the past people have had difficulty believing that sound is the kit, but, trust me, it is. I promise. I was there while the little guy was screaming at the top of his lungs for an hour - poor, poor Cissy. That is the trilling sound all [raccoon] kits make.
In this video you ALSO get to enjoy the effects of our wonderful humidity on the camera lens. I go through this every time I take the camera outside from about May or June until Sept or October. It's fun. Cissy and the baby came out as soon as I sat down. I wanted to get a video of the little guy quickly in case they ran off for some reason, which happens often with kits. When I 1st bring the camera outside from the A/C to the heat and humidity the lens fogs up for some 5 - 10 minutes. Even if I wipe it off, it just repeats. Fun. My glasses do this, too, and that's even more fun. Mostly, I just take them off for the 1st 10min.
So here as you watch Cissy and the kit, you also see the screen fogging up. Eventually, it gets bad enough that I take my shirt and wipe it off. That's when the screen goes black for a minute. Then the screen is clear for a few seconds before it starts to fog up all over again. I said it was fun, right? If you don't have high humidity where you live, well, you just don't know what you are missing.
Here is the link. I just uploaded and may not be available to view right away. If not, try again in a few:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfkw80k38Dk
Ok, I tested. It's working now (the video).
Just so you know, Cissy stayed for a good while, so I have lots of footage of them, much of which is not foggy. I just couldn't resist showing you the effects of humidity. My bad. : )
More to come later.
I can't wait to get to the library tomorrow to see and hear that video (darn dialup)! I've never heard that trilling sound, as I mostly see the racoons from inside the house.
Love the pic of the little fence sleeper! I hope racoons don't roll over in their sleep, lol.
KyWoods,
I'll try to get a few other videos loaded for you before you go. The trilling sound is loud and clear in that video, BTW. I also have a short video of the sleeper. I'll try to get that one up later tonight. Just in case I didn't mention this, the sleeper is an adult raccoon. She stayed up there perfectly still until finally another raccoon woke her up coming to dinner. Thankfully, she didn't roll over while sleeping - and wasn't startled by the other raccoon.
Yes! That trill is what the kits that a rehabber had when I was in training. they would always make that sound for her and especially when she came with bottles. they were so sweet and cuddly. Oh how fun your pics and videos are Cheryl!
Oh yes, I've missed that baby raccoon trill; haven't heard it in years. Though I will admit that if I were Cissy, I too would want to smack the little dear, and not just because it would get annoying. She knows what the baby does not: that the constant vocalizing will draw every predator in the area. Like ringing the dinner bell.
Ruth,
That kit of Cissy's is unbelievable! I've seen 'only kits' before, several times but none even came close to this one. It's simply indescribable. After today's show I decided that kit will be very lucky if she doesn't 'off' him somewhere in the forest when no one is looking.
You can hear the two of them coming well before either of them shows up on the fence. Likewise, you can hear them going long after they are gone. The kit pretty much never stops whaling at the top of its lungs. Cissy doesn't help much because instead of trying to comfort it, she nips at it and shoves it - but after spending just 30min with it, I believe I understand as I could not possibly deal with that 24/7. It's cute, but not that cute.
And the kit never stops running around acting dopey. It doesn't eat even though I have tried many times to give it food. It doesn't have anyone to play with, so it has nothing to do to keep itself occupied. It could just curl up somewhere and sleep, but it doesn't. It never stops for a minute. It's moving and moving and moving. It's all over the place and constantly getting into trouble. It starts trouble. It picks fights with the other adults and then Cissy has to interrupt her meal to hobble over their on 3ft to defend the kit. It picked a good 3 or 4 fights today. I just kept wanting it to sit down and be quiet - just for a minute. Then I looked over at Dennis' kit (who is older I think), and it was eating calmly like all the other kits normally do. I don't know about this kit. If it keeps going this way, I'm afraid to see what it will be like when grown.
I don't really know the answer to the question of when Cissy got injured in relation to her pregnancy. She was injured when she came back this year. She didn't show up until fairly late, several weeks at least after Bast showed up. I don't know whether she already had the kit when she showed up. Many of the others were already nursing then, but judging from the size of Cissy's kit, it seems to have been born well after all of the others I've seen so far, so it's possible she was still pregnant when she arrived here. And then we really don't know how long she was injured before she showed up at the buffet. If you look at Cissy in the pics and videos, BTW, you can see a couple of large dark circles/patches where her fur appears to have been removed which would seem to go with the dog fight theory.
I had to laugh when I read your comments about Dennis. Yeah, I know Dennis is a 'spaz'. But I really am unexpectedly proud of the improvement she has made with the kits. I don't expect her to ever be Heidi, but considering that she was walking around trailing kits behind her like she didn't know they were there just a few years ago, I'm really surprised at how far she has come. But I know she will always be Dennis, and, yes, I will probably always be defending her.
There are several raccoons who are special to me, each for different reasons. Dennis is one of those special raccoons. I will always treasure that 1st year when she was growing up, how she stood at my knee eating treats, how she climbed from the chair to my lap (1/2 way). I will always treasure that day when she held my finger for the 1st time and read it like a blind person reading braille and all her hi-jinks with the dog. No other raccoon has ever gotten so close to me physically. I love the opportunity to pet her and feed her cookies up close.
All that said, she can be annoying. Sometimes she annoys me, too, although she really has gotten much better about that, too, since she has grown up.
But I certainly did get a laugh out of your comments. Guilty as charged.
Maybe Cissy's kit has something wrong with it, poor baby! Might have to put that one on the short bus...
Good one, KyWoods; I'd say that kit definitely has a ticket for the short bus. Honestly, Cheryl, if he/she keeps going this way, I wouldn't worry about what he'll be like when he grows up. The question is more, will he live to grow up? If Cissy doesn't drop-kick him into the next county (and I wouldn't blame her) he will more than likely become someone's hot lunch and get Cissy further injuries when she tries to protect him. If Cissy was pregnant when she was attacked/injured, maybe he has prenatal brain damage. Something is seriously wrong; the constant trilling, when his mother is right there, is not normal and is very very dangerous.
I'm so glad you took the Dennis comments in the right spirit. I do understand, really. That first summer with Heidi and the kits, and the miraculously close relationship you had with baby Dennis, were pure magic; and that bond doesn't go away. I mentioned that Panda, my first Shar Pei, was very difficult to capture and had lifelong medical issues. What I didn't mention was what she looked like that first day I saw her. She was a walking illustration of what happens when a medically intensive animal has had absolutely no responsible care. She was more than 80% bald, her skin a red, swollen, oozing mess; she couldn't see a thing because her eyes were swollen and filled with pus from long-term infection; ears basically swollen shut from infection and neglect; her belly bloated from parasites and untreated hypothyroid; and OMG she absolutely stank of illness and infection. From the minute I picked her up, the first words from everyone who saw her were some variation of "that is the ugliest dog I've ever seen." After five or six times, I found myself defending her with "it's not her fault, you know;" and god knows, it wasn't. By the next day, when I learned that she fled to her outside run at the approach of anyone other than me, I knew I'd just adopted a dog.
So I really do get it with Dennis. For the thirteen years I had Panda with me, I never stopped being teased by friends and co-workers who knew me as a diehard cat person, yet I'd adopted this "butt-ugly" dog. And the rational part of me knew they were right; even with the best of care, she never had a full coat and well, she was never a centerfold. Just as you know that Dennis, well, is not quite like the other raccoons. It simply doesn't matter in the slightest when you love them.
Running very late with those videos. (Sorry KyWoods)
This is from a week ago. Jerry's 2 kits coming down the fence for the 1st time with me around. Again, newly posted. May take a few minutes to be ready: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5EsWLp74ZQ
Me feeding animal cookies to Dennis. Note how calmly she takes the cookies and how she touches my hands when doing so. I hope this will help you to see why Dennis is so special to me. She is unlike any other in her comfort level around me.
I can feed cookies to many of the others, too, but they (except for Bast) will approach cautiously, stand back with mouth facing me, in a position that makes it easier to get away if necessary. Some will take the cookie gingerly with their mouths. That's the preferred way for the most timid. Others will take it with their hands but will usually just take the very end avoiding my hand. Dennis is practically like a pet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlG4uZiwXh8
In this video Cissy shoves the kit fairly gently. Most of the time she really gives him a big, angry shove. This is mild compared to the norm but is the only one I've been able to catch on film. I think she knows I'm recording her. (lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQ2JRMlz-A
Last one for now. I need to get some things done around here.
First let me preface this by saying, yes, the pool is yucky. It gets like that in about 3 or 4 days now because mold spores are left behind when I hose it down before refilling it. In this heat and humidity those spores grown quickly. I guess I need to try soaking it in bleach to kill the spores. But there is another issue now because Mr Copperhead is holding the hose/faucet hostage. (Discussion later, much later.)
Second, I think you should know that the trilling (Cissy's kit) is actually considerably louder than it appears on the video (lousy camera mic). It actually gets quite annoying after a short time. If the kit doesn't quiet down soon, I may need earplugs.
So, about the video. In this one Cissy's kit sees Dennis' kit in the pool. He looked excited to see someone his size and hurried over there to meet the new kid. The meeting didn't go so well though. On the way back to Mom, the [very nervous] kit got upset because Dennis was standing beside his Mom and he was afraid to go close to Dennis - even though Dennis was by him and his Mom before he left to go to the pool in the 1st place. Anyhow, the kit gets all defensive about Dennis and dances around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr_tl2TxCY0
Almost forgot Sleeping Beauty. This is the short video I took of the raccoon sleeping at the top of the fence. I wanted to show that she really isn't moving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8IMzWPDZEY
So neat to see your videos. Thanks!
Ok, this really is the last one for now. I just had to add this one as it is just chock full of adventure. It starts off slow, but don't give up on it. There is a lot to see in this one, and once the action starts, it really takes off.
This is Cissy and her kit again. Dennis is eating near them. Now we've all discussed how Dennis rides the short bus. For some inexplicable reason Dennis decides she wants Cissy's food, even though Dennis has a larger pile of food on the other side of me where she normally eats. So Dennis executes The Steal in this video to take the food from Cissy and the kit. (I would say this video is a twofer, but it's way more than that.). So in addition to seeing the kit, you get to see The Steal.
As if that weren't enough, the kit reacts to all this by jumping or climbing on Dennis' back - to fight her off, I guess. Dennis is a 'stealer' not a fighter, so she ignores the kit. You can see Dennis get into position for the steal and then scoot back until she owns the food. Eventually, as is customary with The Steal, Cissy gives up and walks away trailing the kit behind her.
They go to the pool where the kit is accosted by another adult raccoon - or, as this happens often and only with this kit, it may be the other way around. In defense of the kit, Cissy chaises the other raccoon off.
Note: as this one is longer than the others (3min), it will take longer to process and thus may not be available for playback right away.
Edited because, oops, I jumped the gun on this one. I posted the wrong link. It isn't through uploading yet, so there is no link at present. I will post the correct link below as soon as it is ready. It said 4min more.
Edited again to add the correct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewHlacm6UTA
Although it is now loaded. It may still be 'processing' and may take a few minutes to be ready to play.
This message was edited Jul 10, 2010 12:51 PM
This message was edited Jul 10, 2010 12:56 PM
Thank you, June! Glad you are enjoying them.
:-D
Ok, here is the correct link for the video of Cissy's kit with Dennis doing the steal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewHlacm6UTA
You still may need to wait for it to finish 'processing' before it will actually be read to play. If it fails, please give it a few minutes and try again.
My day has been made! Those are wonderful videos. It looks to me like that short bus trilling kit is beginning to or trying to forage on the ground. Maybe it's still more a nurser than an eater. I'll pray for Stretch (as in hope the short bus stretches to normal size).
gotta run. Therapy appt.
Sheri
Wonderful videos!! It's so fun to see them in action. Hope you are planning on including a CD with all of them inside your book. Glad to see Dennis has learned how to do the steal the right way.
I haven't made it to the library yet to watch the videos, but by Tuesday for sure!
I saw one of our racoons doing 'the Steal' in one of the plates of kibble on our back porch the other night. LOL
I have watched that last one a number of times and it is almost as if the little kit is saying to mom "Can't you see shes trying to steal our food? OK, I'll handle it, I'll just jump on her and see if she stops!"
Hi Sheri,
I really do appreciate all of the compliments. Glad you enjoyed them. I still have many more. I haven't had time to watch most of them myself. I agree that the kits looks like it's right at that point between milk and solid food. It shows some foraging behavior and licks and nibbles at things it finds. Hopefully, it will soon learn to eat.
Tonight was insane with that little guy out there!
Susan,
Great idea.
Due to cost issues I might have to consider having them on a website with extras like pics and videos and putting a link in the back of the book possibly with some kind of code so only those who have the book can access it. I do think the CD/DVD would be better, but from my research it seems that sometimes even things like lots of photos can get very costly potentially driving the cost of the book too high to be considered commercially viable. A lot of these issues are largely decided by publishers based on cost vs the price at which they think the book can be sold, but I do like the idea and will argue for it.
KyWoods,
I'm sorry you didn't get to the library yet to see the videos, but then again at least you didn't go early this morning and miss the videos I loaded closer to noon. This way you will get to see more videos when you do go.
That is good news that you saw one of your raccoons executing The Steal - and important news as well. I'm glad you had the chance to see it. Isn't it cute to watch? I'm also glad you told us this. Until now I've had no way of knowing whether this behavior is limited to my group (as in different societies have different cultural practices) or is more universal. It now seems more the latter, although it still doesn't preclude the behavior having been spread across the east coast by a single small group, perhaps the group from Florida. It would now be interesting to know if this same behavior is observed on the west coast. (Any west coast folks ever see this behavior in your area? How about SW, MidWest, Canada, and other regions? I'd love to hear from you if you do.)
Oh, and, KyWoods,
Not to make you feel guilty or anything like that, but this morning I overslept. I needed to go out to get Dennis (and the others but mostly Dennis so she will stop bothering me. lol) a big bag of $1 cookies (like I promised to do). I didn't want to deal with Saturday crowds at the cheap grocery store, the only place where I can get the cheap cookies, so I needed to go early as in ASAP that morning. But, having failed to load those extra videos for you the night before like I had said I would... I decided to try to load a few as quickly as possible - which still ended up taking until after noon to finish. I was hoping to get them loaded before you left the library. Anyhow, since I chose to load the videos I didn't get to pick up those cookies. Dennis was MAD, too. You don't want to know what she did to express her discontent.
...And then you didn't even go to see them. Of course, if I had loaded the videos the night before like I said I would, it wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. Dennis is still mad, but everyone else seems happy that the videos got loaded when they did, so all's well that ends well. I hope you get to see them soon.
;-)
Sheri,
Adorable caption. I laugh every time I think about that kit climbing on Dennis' back that way. Even as I was videoing the thing I could not believe my luck 1st just to get The Steal in the video and then to have the kit 'jump' on Dennis that way. It isn't normal for anything that cute to happen when I have the camera running in video mode.
The kit 'jumping' on Dennis that way reminded me of that scene you see a lot in movies, sit coms, and comedy routines where someone, often a female, jumps on the back of an attacker and hangs on around their neck often managing to bring them down (because it's tv).
Cheryl,
My DH & I have had so much fun watching the videos! Thanks!
Liz
Hi Liz,
You are very welcome. Thank you!
That one of the kit defending it's Mom from the steal is pricelessly funny!
The videos are great, Cheryl, as always. And if Cissy were human, I swear she'd be on the pill by now; I'm quite sure she doesn't want to go through this experience again!
Thank you, June!
I could not believe my luck to capture that. That kit is too much.
ROTFLOL, Ruth!
Isn't that the truth. Poor, Cissy. I started out feeling sorry for the kit and wondering how Cissy could be so mean to it especially since she was so good with her 1st kit. Now I'm wondering how she maintains her sanity.
A few quick notes.
Yesterday, I went to the door and found Dennis out there with all of her kits. One was playing with one of those squishy balls, the ones someone sent them. Most of those balls 'ran off' very quickly as soon as I put them out. I even watched raccoons carry them up into the Heidi tree a few times. The landscaper found a few hidden in the garden when he collected the toys back in April. The kit had apparently taken the ball from the bucket and was carrying it around the patio playing with it while waiting.
I forgot to tell you how Cissy's kit makes its very noteworthy entrance. By the time they get here Cissy is already well ahead of the kit. She comes down the fence and is at her spot eating when a fraction of a second later we hear all this screeching. Then the bush shakes like a bear is about to emerge and the tiny kit bursts onto the scene at the top of the fence. Then, instead of climbing slowly and methodically down the fence post as every other raccoon in the history of Heidi Land has done, the kit makes an incredibly awkward and uncoordinated dash across the fence top falling this way and that and then tries to gallop down the fence post. That doesn't work, of course, so somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 way down the post the kit sort of 1/2 leaps, 1/2 falls to the ground. It's a combination swan-dive/belly flop. The kit bounces well though. It flops onto the ground a few feet from the post and takes of running toward its Mom. Instead of going around the pool, the kit jumps in the water and literally swims across to the opposite 'shore' where it gets out of the pool and continues running to its Mom screaming bloody murder all the way. The whole thing is eerily like some kind of military fitness test, you know, the kind where they dash along a track, climb and fall over barriers and so forth. That's what the kit's entrance looks like.
The whole experience from the time the kit arrives until it leaves is a very rocky and emotional experience for me. I love the little guy. I want to hug him to my chest and make him feel safe. I want Cissy to do something to make him feel safe and warm. I hate the little guy. I want him to sit down and SHUT UP - for a second, so I can breath. I cringe when he/she does the mad dash down the post followed by the high dive and belly flop. I just know he's going to get hurt. I want to run over there and catch him. I hold my breath every time he starts something with the adult raccoons. Then he has the entire group in an uproar again and I just wish he would sit down and stop being so defensive. Soon he has poor Cissy forced to fight for him yet again. And it's like that non-stop until he leaves (or I do).
Today I was late getting out there, 8:30PM, almost sundown. Since that 1st day with Junior went so badly, Cissy has been arriving late to try to keep him separated from the others, but since I was late that meant everyone was there at the same time, a sizable group of 7 or 8 adults plus the kit. As a result, the others were too close for the kit to feel comfortable. While Cissy tried to eat, the kit picked fights with the many adults around her forcing Cissy to stop to fight first this one and then that one to retrieve her kid. She tried relocating to the outer part of the circle but that did little good. The whole thing was a free for all, a circus. I ran out to fast w/o my camera, so I didn't get it on video, and it defies description. Think old west, saloon fight for 30min. That's the best I can do. Cissy was that 'man' in the center of the fight. The one that keeps turning around to fight with someone else.
Actually it was pretty disturbing, the worse scene yet. If that kit doesn't settle down and soon, not only is he going to get himself killed, he's going to get Cissy hurt, too, AND he's likely to get them both bounced from the [much needed] buffet because I really can't imagine Heidi (who wasn't there today) putting up with too much of this kind of shenanigan. Heidi insists on a quiet, well organized, and disciplined group at dinner - which this is not. I wish I knew something to do to try to diffuse the situation for Cissy's sake as she doesn't need to be running around the forest on 3 legs looking for dinner. I've tried giving the kit food and treats but it doesn't help. He licks them for a minute and then drops them to resume his craziness.